I. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to systems for quickly connecting and disconnecting a drive member of a first device and a driven member of a second device. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to quick-connect systems for coupling and decoupling the drive member of a motor and a driven member of a pump or generator.
II. Related Art
A pump is a device used to move fluids, such as liquids, slurries, or gases. A pump displaces a volume by physical or mechanical action. For a pump to displace a volume of fluid, power must be supplied to the pump. While power is supplied to some pumps manually, motors are often used to supply power to a pump. In a similar fashion, motors are often used to supply power to a generator.
Sometimes it is necessary to separate a motor from a pump or generator to facilitate cleaning, repair, maintenance, or replacement of either the pump or generator or the motor. To date this has been a time-consuming task, sometimes requiring the participation of multiple people skilled in varying trades, including plumbing, electrical, and mechanical repair. Thus, there is a real need for a system which allows the motor to be quickly and easily detached from a pump or generator and attached to a different pump or generator (or to the same pump or generator after maintenance, cleaning or repair). This need is particularly acute for companies filling containers with liquids or otherwise dispensing liquid products.
Companies filling containers with liquid products or otherwise dispensing liquid products often need to be able to switch from filling or dispensing one product to another as quickly as possible. Many liquid filling companies have a “servo filler” machine, which has a pumping system consisting of a servomotor and a pump. In a servo filling machine, the pump is powered by, and is mechanically attached to, a servomotor. In a typical filling operation, the input of the pump is connected to a tank containing the product to be filled, and the output goes to a nozzle, which is inside or above a container.
In many industries, the pump needs to be cleaned at regular intervals. This is necessary for both sanitary purposes, and to prevent one product mixing with another, since the same pump is often used for more than one product.
In many servo filling systems, the pump is rigidly attached to the machine. This means that if the machine were to be sanitized, the filling process would have to come to a halt, while employees clean the pump. This is often a time consuming process.
The old methods of cleaning the pumps require the filling machine be stopped until the pump can be thoroughly cleaned or replaced. In the past, these steps have required substantial time, effort and training given the way pumps and motors have been traditionally attached to each other and to the equipment with which they are used. The old methods used by “contract packaging companies” and others decrease their bottle-per-minute output and thus the profitability of such companies.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a substantial need for a quick-connect mounting apparatus for pumps, generator, and other systems that allow a motor to be quickly and easily detached and reattached from a pump or generator.